bush who awarded the first gulf war, is a houston hospital in intensive care after suffering bronchitis. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. president obama is said to me today with congressional leaders at the white house just three days before year-end deadline to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. obama and congressional republicans remain at an impasse over the republicans' refusal to allow tax hikes even for the wealthiest americans. if an agreement is not reached in time, $600 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax increases will go into effect on january 1. but the tax increases would not necessarily be permanent. the new congress could pass legislation to cancel them retroactively after it begins its work next year. >> while the so-called fiscal cliff has dominated the news headlines, the senate is also preparing to vote today to continue a controversial domestic surveillance program. i